The 11-song album features Pardi's first two singles, "Missin' You Crazy" and his current release "Up All Night." The latter is in the Top 25 and rising on the country charts.

"All I ever wanted to do coming to Nashville," the California-born country artist said, "was to write rowdy, in-your-face, straight country music, and that's what this album is."

Hailing from the farm town of Dixon in California's Central Valley, it's little surprise that Pardi counts such West Coast honky tonkers as Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakam among his influences � as well as Hank Jr., Georges Jones and Strait, Alabama and 1990s neo-traditionalist Mark Chesnutt.

Pardi cut his teeth playing in the bars and clubs around central California, where, he said, he soon learned the types of songs that can get a crowd worked up and paying attention � and the types that don't always fly so high. "Slow songs don't go over when you're trying to sell beer," Pardi said, "so I learned a lot of really up, fast songs that I still like doing today."

Pardi left California for Nashville in 2008 ("with my mom crying as I drove away"), and after lots of cowriting sessions, demo recordings and live performances, he wound up signing with Capitol Records Nashville. - more on this story

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